Samuel k



IMPROVEMENT 1N .nARvEsTER RAKES;

:SAMUEL K. LTGHTER, Y OF HAMILTON, onto; Letters PatentiNo. 60,392, dated December 11, 1866; antedateol 0ctober`28, `1,866.

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TO ALL WHOM lIT MAY CONCERN: V

Beit known that I, SAMUEL K. LIGHTER, of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio,have invented a new andl useful improvement in Harvesting machines; and I do hereby declare the following to hea full, cleaigand exact` description thereof, 'reference `being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpartof this specification,

My invention relates to the class of harvesters which carry a vibrating rake, andconsists in a` more compact i b i and eifective arrangement of devices for acting upon the rake stem- Figure 1 is perspective viewV of a portion ofa harvester. embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a transverse section, taken at the line x w, iig. 1.

A represents a portion of the mainframe, B is the platform, C is the divider, D 1is thedriving wheel. The rake, E, is secured to the frame by means of 'a ball and socket, or other universal jint or fulcrum, F,;,stua`ted near the heel end of the rake-stem, which end has the limber heel, G, butt-,hinged toiit, twhereby said heeluis' made' capable of folding upward but not downward. The heel G, as the rake is vibrated to andfro, makes the circuit of a fixed cam or guide, H, which projects from the frame.` I is acrank on the inner end of the main shaft, connected by pitman, J, to the rake-stem, somewhat outside of or on the grain side of the fulcrum. K is a xed cam or guide, which rises from and follows the contour of the inner edge of the platform, whichis coincident with the arc of a circle struck fromA the fulcrum. The upperedge of the guide, K, is carried back horii zontally until it approaches the rear edge of the platform, and thence rises slightly to its rear end. The guide b K serves to eoiine the grain to the platform, and geo-operates with the inner guide H, joint F, and heel G; to

impart the desired rising and falling motions to the rake while being vibrated forward andi backward -by the pitman J. In order to ease'tlie rakedown on to the platform, and to prevent the violent concussion usually incident to the return of the rake to the platform, I provide a ledge, L, which projects horizontally inward from` the divider C, and I provide a cushion, P, of India-rubber on the under side of the rake-head, at its tip, which cushion`by alighting upon the said ledge L, breaksjthe force of the conoussionof the descending rake. In ,i order to enable the positive and definite vertical adjustment of the outer or grain sideof the` platform, I provide ,i

the inner end of the grain-wheel axle,`M, with an internally screw-threaded head, m, which is housed "in a verf` tical slot, N, in the divider C, and receives ascrew, O, journaled in said divider. The operation' of my -rake, in the process of raking back the grain, is as follows: The stem of the rake rests and slides upon the level portion of the guide K, during the greater portion of its backward or effective stroke, until reaching the rise K, said rise then -operates 'in conjunction with the fixed universal fulerum, F, and -pitman J,'to simultaneously lift the rake backward and upward from the grain, the rake-head being at the same time slightly `canted backward, so as to enableits teeth to withdraw easily from the grain, by moving in the direction of b theirilength, the limbesheel, Gr, merely resting lightly and gliding forward along the ridge of the xedcain H, as at 1 fig. 1; until at the termination of the backward or eifective sweep of the rake, the said heel drops in front of the point of thesaid cam,` so as, on the commencement of the return stroke of the rake, to engage beneath the .said cam, and be pressed downward by it, thus elevating the rake clear of the platform, andholding it clear of the Anext `batch of 1 i grain, until it reaches the proper position, for descending, as at 2 iig. 1.

It will be seen that in my arrangement, the device for conducting the rake forward clearof the `grain toits i starting position is placed wholly on the inside of the joint or fulcrum. This enables the use of a very compact i and simple form of bridge, of less weight and bulk and less liable to becoming entangled with grain than the form usually employed. y

I claim herein as new and of my invention- The arrangement of rake E,universal joint or fulcrum F, limber-heel G, fixed cam H, pitman J, and guide i K c, the whole being constructed, combined, and adapted to operate in the manner set forth.

In testimony of which'inverition, I hereunto set my hand.

4 S. K. liIGrHlER.`

Witnesses:

GEO. H. KNIGHT, JAMEs Iii-Latium. 

